Stephen Colly
Profile Stephen Colly is a young English corporal, serving in the British Army. He is the first openly homosexual character in Issuing Orders history. Pre-War Life Stephen grew up on a farm in Devon, England. A fairly lonely child, his best friend was his horse, a red bay affectionately named Joey''. When war broke out, Joey was sold to the British Army to assist in the war effort, against Stephen's wishes. Finding himself despising his father, Stephen signed up for service on the front line in a suicidal bid to find Joey and to bring him home. Military Service Stephen met Edward McMillan, a battle-hardened Irishman early on in the course of the war, the latter saving the former's during a small skirmish in hostile territory. The two grew to be firm friends and confidantes and their friendship was never truly broken despite the horrific circumstances the two found themselves in during the later stages of the conflict (see below). Stephen spent much of the war in France, although details of what he did there seem to be fairly sketchy. Ultimately, he returned back to the UK, once again meeting his old friend McMillan before being forced to return to the frontline. He took part in the D-Day Landings and was, as a result, shell-shocked to a terrible extreme. Sent back to England to recouperate, he met McMillan on neutral terms for what he assumed would be the last time. After a small time back home, Stephen learned that McMillan had been K.I.A McMillan's Betrayal Like countless other Allied soldiers, Stephen attended McMillan's funeral, the single most affected by his apparent death, breaking down completely. It was at this point that Stephen realised that he was in fact in love with his old friend, realising his sexuality at last. When a heavily deranged Captain Brentwood began to claim that McMillan was in fact alive, Stephen was one of the few who at least half-believed him, along with the somewhat more dubious Rhys Bevan, Daniel Brennan and Nathan Whyte. Sometime after this, Rhys was himself killed in action in North Africa, another sore blow for Stephen. Following a disturbing briefing conducted by the steadily more psycopathic Brentwood, he was drafted to Italy to fight under the Canadian officer, Aiden Jacka. He proved to be of little use in defending the small British-held village and was captured by the enemy, led in a cruel twist of fate by the turncoat McMillan. McMillan, his fondness for Stephen able to withstand any shift in alleigances, helped guarantee Stephen's escape from the German forces. Stephen is currently attempting to make his way back to Allied lines. Sexuality Stephen became aware of his homosexuality during Edward McMillan's funeral, realising that he had long been in love with his old friend. He admitted this to Nathan Whyte sometime later, who accepted his friend's sexuality without question. Not everyone would be so understanding - he was attacked by a number of American soldiers for his apparent fayness only to be rescued by Nicholas Ealing], who too realised that Stephen was a "queen". He also confessed his urges to the Finnish-American chaplain Hendrick Davidson who discouraged him. He was shown to have a homosexual relationship with childhood friend Henry and, more recently, thought of private Tristan Green as a "beautiful man". Relationships Despite his sensitive and insular nature, Stephen had many friends during his time in the British army, foremost among these Edward McMillan. He was also friendly with Rhys Bevan, Daniel Brennan and Nathan Whyte. Relationship with Edward McMillan Stephen's relationship with veteran Irish soldier Edward McMillan has been a staple of Issuing Orders since its conception. During McMillan's time in the British Army, Stephen was his constant ally, and McMillan proved to be extremely fond and protective of the young man. When Stephen returned from the front line, shell-shocked and confused, it was McMillan who was the first to visit him in his ward. It was only following McMillan's defection to the SS that Stephen finally realised that his feelings for McMillan were romantic and faced up, at least to himself and to his friend, Nathan Whyte, to the fact that he was gay. Stephen remained adamant that McMillan was alive and was proved correct when he came across him in Europe. In a cruel twist of fate, he was captured by his old friend but, proving that their friendship was stronger than any alliance, McMillan helped him to escape at great risk to himself. Category:Characters of Issuing Orders